4 Rivers Floating Lodge

Before we left for 4 Rivers Floating Lodge, I caught this photo of two local boys swimming. They were very shy but I snapped the picture anyways.

The boat ride down the river to 4 Rivers Floating Lodge took about 15 minutes.

We rounded a bend and there was our lodging for the next two nights.

14 tent – like structures floating on rafts connected by a long dock. In the centre is a library, toilets, office, restaurant and lounge seating. It is gorgeous. We were met with cool cloths and welcome drinks and Francois, the manager, telling us he’d have to charge us for the boat ride over because we had missed the pickup time. Once we explained to Francois (from Montreal by the way) what happened, all was fine.

Our room was located in the north wing, second last, and was over 45 square metres complete with large sitting area and a ladder so we could swim right off the deck.

The room was lovely – as you can see – with a round shower and a TV but no cable. The library however had a huge selection of DVDs. There wasn’t a/c as it was an eco-lodge but there were a couple of fans. The tent had screens all the way around and our entrance way was a zippered screen that made us feel like we were camping. As we were only staying two nights, we opted out of the day trip to a fishing village and decided to just enjoy the setting. We put on our suits and jumped into the river.

The water was so clear we could see our feet beneath us. Francois the owner explained later that sometimes the water was clear enough you could see the sand bottom 6 metres below. Currently, salt water from the ocean was sitting on the warmer fresh river water below. If you stretched your feet beneath, you could feel the warmth. This is an anomaly as typically warm water rises but of course salt water doesn’t.

After our swim, we sat on the dock under the umbrella and it started to rain. It didn’t rain long and soon the sun was out again.

We headed to the reception area to use the internet as it wasn’t available in our tents. Normally I would have our next accommodation booked but I was taking a different approach; trying to book things last minute to allow for more flexibility. Sihanoukville was our next destination – about a 4 hour drive east of Tatai where we planned on doing some diving. We decided to book accommodation that was cheaper (which meant not on the beach) so I sent off an email and hoped we could get a room.

Dinner at the lodge was a set menu for 19 dollars and it seemed like you were stuck paying the 19 dollars whether you wanted all that food or not. I had read about this on tripadvisor so we knew what to expect. There were a couple of starters, three mains and two desserts to choose from and the food was not overly exciting. Janet’s food at Rainbow Lodge was a lot more interesting and certainly more delicious.

At 9pm, we headed out on the boat to see the fireflies but they were pretty disappointing after being spoiled in Borneo. There we had seen millions of them – as if someone had taken the night sky full of stars and put them in the trees – here, there were maybe 30. Our guide explained that the females stay in the trees while the males fly around. It was interesting seeing them twinkle in synch.

Our night was fairly quiet.

It was great having some hot water to shower, and the beds were comfy. I had a good night’s sleep except I woke up very hot. At night it was cool so you wanted the curtains closed but during the morning with the sun up, you wanted them open but couldn’t. There was too much traffic on the river from the locals and from our own lodge running day trips – as well, there seemed to be a fair bit of activity on land across from us. So needless to say, it got hot in that tent. At one point, the floor fan read 38 degrees! Yikes.

We got out of bed, put on our suits, and jumped in the river. Ian noticed a large jellyfish swimming around our dock and we thought this was the coolest thing and watched it until it disappeared.

We honestly didn’t think too much of it, just figured it was a lone jellyfish who got pulled into the river by mistake. However, on route to breakfast, we saw more - and more - and more of them. I was now concerned. Our plan was to spend the day swimming …

At breakfast, I mentioned the jellyfish to Francois, the manager, and he said not to worry – they didn’t sting. He’d gone swimming several times and had brushed up against them without any stings. I was sceptical to say the least and figured he’d merely hit the top part where of course, one wouldn’t get stung (hey, I saw Nemo). Ian was inclined to believe Francois and wasn’t going to let some jellyfish stop him from enjoying the river. We’d already been swimming and hadn’t had any problems, right? After some research, it turns out that all jellyfish sting but some are so mild, humans can’t feel it.

We had breakfast (included) – which was very good: muesli with fresh fruit and yogurt and delicious coffee made with the espresso machine – yum. I checked my email but didn’t have any emails back from the place in Sihanoukville so I sent off one titled ‘Urgent’ and hoped for the best. Service was unavailable with our cheap phones so I couldn’t call.

We spent the day lazing about. I would scour the river for jellyfish before jumping in and then fret the entire time. It was hard to enjoy the water. I checked my email again that afternoon but still hadn’t heard back from Reef Resort, our cheaper choice of accommodation, so I sent off an email to option two, the pricier fancy Sokha Beach Resort. We were leaving the next day so I was getting a bit desperate.

Dinner was again just okay – pasta with a cream sauce and chicken curry for Ian. For 19 dollars each, you’d think the food would be better. We got a couple of movies and watched them in our beautiful tent. The temperature went down significantly and it was a lovely night.

Our second morning was a repeat of the first, quick swim, breakfast and email. Accommodation was confirmed and paid for with Sokha and two minutes later I received an email from Reef Resort with our room bookings. Ugh! Our bus to Sihanoukville left around 1pm and cost 24 dollars for two tickets. It was arranged by the resort so we paid more than we should have. We had to do some sort of weird bus change on route…

The resort had 10 tents checking out that morning so our boat to the bridge was full. We chatted with folks from Quebec and Europe and passed a large boat dredging up sand from the river’s bottom to be sold later. One of the passengers said that this was illegal and that the helicopter flying low over the river would be reporting them to the authorities.

There were several taxis waiting at the dock and all the guests, except Ian and I, poured into them. Anna, who was taking over for Francois so he could take a vacation, escorted us up to where we would wait for the bus. It was a tiny diner with wooden tables and plastic chairs so we took a seat and for 1.50, had an orange juice, a beer for Ian and a small bag of chips. The bus arrived around 1:30 and we made our way across the road. The driver opened his window and dropped a plastic bag of garbage onto the centre of the road which was repeated on route. Cambodia, like the rest of the countries we’ve visited, has a problem with litter. Large piles of garbage lie on the sides of roads, in front of stores, and in rivers.

We found some empty seats at the front. Seats were assigned but as usual, someone was sitting in ours so we made do with what was left. The seats were comfy and the bus air conditioned so I was happy.

After a couple of hours, we turned off the highway to Phnom Penh and I started wondering when we were going to make that connection because we were now travelling in the opposite direction. Finally, we saw another bus coming towards us and we pulled over onto the side of the highway. The other bus, which was nowhere near as nice as the one we were on, did the same. We grabbed our bags, ran across the road and found two seats (not together). Two other passengers followed us but ended up sitting on small plastic stools in the centre aisle. I was so glad that wasn`t me! That`s the problem here – you can ask for a VIP bus and be promised a VIP bus but you just never know what you’re going to get.